Durfee Foundation Stanton Fellowship

Overview

The Durfee Foundation is named in honor of Dorothy Durfee Avery who, with her husband, R. Stanton (Stan) Avery, established it in 1960. Since that time, the foundation has awarded more than $35 million in grants, primarily in the Los Angeles region.

New programs were launched such as Earthwatch (now Ignite LA) in 1989; [Sabbatical]() in 1997; and Artists Resource for Completion (ARC) in 1999. The Durfee Foundation entered the new century with a commitment to supporting extraordinary people with a sharpened focus on Los Angeles County. The Stanton Fellowship (2005) launched to give exceptional leaders time to think deeply about big questions. Durfee’s Sabbatical program gained national attention and replication, and a joint report with four other foundations demonstrated the value of sabbaticals for nonprofit leaders. Another program, the [Lark Awards](), named in honor of the late Lark Galloway-Gilliam, was approved in 2021. Durfee celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2010, and the board expanded to include trustees outside of the family.

The Durfee Foundation invests in people and possibilities in Los Angeles County, where the foundation’s history lies and where funding needs are great.

* The Durfee Foundation believes that smart, innovative, passionate people are our most powerful force for progress. Everything we do is in service of supporting and connecting creative people who have fresh perspectives.
* At Durfee, we do not assume that the way things have been done in the past is the best way to operate now or in the future. We work hard to find and support innovative people who demonstrate a generative spark — the potential to think creatively, embrace change, take risks, and learn continuously.
* Building strong relationships is important to us. By encouraging collaboration, and working across sectors and neighborhoods, the Durfee Foundation strengthens the civic fabric of LA.

Stanton Fellowship

For the Stanton Fellowship, the Durfee Foundation is seeking the most knowledgeable, inquisitive, ambitious, creative, influential and highly networked leaders – the ones who are best positioned to identify and make headway on a big question.

* The Durfee Foundation’s Stanton Fellowship provides up to six fellows with $100,000 each over a two-year period to think deeply about big questions, and to tease out approaches that will improve life for the people of L.A.
* Each fellow designs his or her own inquiry and plan. We are looking for proposals that build on the fellow’s expertise and allow him or her to reach in new directions. Fellows should present plans that they would not otherwise be able to pursue in the course of their day-to-day work, if not for the Stanton Fellowship. The Fellowship program presumes that the inquiry will leverage the candidates expertise to advance the needs in the field.
* Peer learning is an important part of the Stanton Fellowship. Fellows meet regularly to share their work, learn from one another about their respective fields and projects, and discover more about LA from visits to different sites and neighborhoods and hearing from local experts. They come from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, and bring curiosity and engagement to a cross-disciplinary network.
* Possible use of the funds might include domestic or international travel, attending conferences, hiring research assistants or consultants, or a writing retreat. The goal is to enable fellows to expand knowledge, hone professional skills, form strategic alliances, and advance their work to the next level. The inquiry will require the fellow’s focused dedication to Stanton time, for a minimum total of three months over the two-year fellowship in blocks of two weeks or longer.

The goals of the program are to:

* Enable Los Angeles changemakers to pursue an inquiry that seeks to improve the lives of people living in Los Angeles
* Support open inquiry and intellectual stimulation for creative thinkers in LA, advancing ideas, expanding practice and deepening roots in the community
* Create a cross-disciplinary network to share ideas and resources

Eligibility

_You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website._

* Individual candidates for this program should:
* Be a resident of Los Angeles County
* Be an outstanding thought leader with a demonstrated track record for at least 7 years in the nonprofit sector and government, as well as artists, movement leaders, and social entrepreneurs
* Be in a position to influence peers, policymakers and/or the general public
* Desire to participate in a cross-disciplinary network of leaders
* Present a clearly articulated proposal to work on a complex issue over a two-year period
* Develop a plan for devoting a minimum of three months over the two-year fellowship period to the project, in increments of no less than two weeks at a time
* Need financial assistance to underwrite the project
* Commit to participating in three overnight retreats and quarterly day-long meetings over a two-year period
* Not have access already to professional opportunities for research or inquiry

Ineligibility

* Funds may not be used for personal living expenses, or for stipends for staff members.
* Project implementation, strategic planning for your organization, evaluations of existing programs, supporting the launch of a pilot program that has already been designed, or investment in a project already underway are NOT appropriate activities for a Stanton proposal.